Brendan Walsh was born in Richboro, PA, and graduated from The Catholic University of America in with a Bachelor of Mechanical Engineering in 2002. He was commissioned a Marine Officer and served for over 20 years, including flying aircraft carrier-based F/A-18 Hornets in Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom, F-35B and F/A-18 flight instruction, TOPGUN and the Marine Corps Weapons and Tactics Instructor Courses, F-35 Operational Test and Evaluation, and F-35C Squadron Command and deployment. Post military service, Brendan founded Climb Unrestricted LLC, an Arizona LLC that performs independent consulting; he also provides military aviation subject matter expertise and acts as an F-35 simulator contract instructor pilot. He has a Masters in Mechanical Engineering from the Georgia Institute of Technology, is a licensed Professional Engineer in the state of Florida, is a Federal Aviation Administration licensed Airline Transport Pilot and Certified Flight Instructor, and is currently pursuing an engineering Ph.D. from the University of Texas at Austin.